New Yorkers take brunch very seriously. Even if it’s just a bagel, it’s a baked-to-perfection-that-very-morning bagel smeared with the perfect amount of cream cheese, topped with a slice of ripe tomato and a sprinkling of kosher salt and fresh-cracked pepper.

So, as you can imagine, it’s never really “just a bagel.” It’s more of a religious experience which happens to take place in a delicatessen.

And just because this New Yorker left the city this weekend, doesn’t mean I didn’t bring a little New York style brunch to the Rhode Island shore.

A New Yorker’s Sunday Brunch Salad

Diced cucumbers
Chopped tomato
Capers
Smoked Salmon, cut into small pieces
Bagels, cut into bite sized pieces and toasted or grilled with butter in a frying pan
Cream cheese, balled (use a melon baller)
Lemon Juice
Salt & Pepper

Combine cucumber, tomatoes, capers, salmon. Dress with lemon juice, season with salt & pepper. Add bagel bites and balls of cream cheese.

(Adapted from NY Times)